On May 18th, 1933, Congress chartered the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), beginning one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first projects of his “New Deal” social welfare programs. Its goals were to “To improve the navigability and to provide for the flood control of the Tennessee River; to provide for reforestation and the proper use of marginal … Continue reading Working for the TVA
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) recently partnered with the University of Maryland’s Cinema and Media Studies Program to present Films of State: Moving Images Made by Governments, a virtual conference running from April 7 to 9, 2021, highlighting current scholarship on the topic of government films and filmmaking. This inaugural conference featured international … Continue reading Films of State Conference Recordings Now Available
Each year in the United States, National Nurses Week is celebrated starting on May 6. We have been reminded this past year of the incredible work nurses do on a daily basis and of the sacrifice they make to care for the wellbeing of others. To mark National Nurses Week, the Unwritten Record is celebrating … Continue reading Celebrate Nurses Week with the Military Nurse
Happy Peak Bloom Week! According the The National Park Service, peak bloom for the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. means that "70% of the Yoshino Cherry (Prunus x yedoensis) blossoms are open. Peak bloom varies annually depending on weather conditions. The most likely time to reach peak bloom is between the last week of March … Continue reading A Symbol of Spring: The Cherry Blossoms of Washington, D.C.
The Universal Newsreel Collection chronicles some of the most important historical, cultural and sporting events and trends of the early to mid 20th Century. Among the footage of military invasions, coronations, and Olympics it is possible to find footage of lesser known citizens who also made their mark on history. One such story comes from a … Continue reading Spotlight: Learning More About Female Firefighters From Universal News Production Files
In recent months, the National Archives' Education Updates blog has posted a series of pieces focusing on award-winning National History Day documentaries. National History Day is an annual contest for students in grades 6-12 to produce a variety of project types, including exhibits, websites, papers, performances, and documentaries. NARA’s Education Specialists have covered three fantastic … Continue reading Spotlight: Finding Footage for National History Day Projects
February 11 is International Day of Women and Girls in Science, a day set aside to recognize the role women and girls play in science and technology and promote full and equal access to participation in science. What better way to recognize the day than by highlighting a few NASA trailblazers? Still taken from 255-HQ-296 … Continue reading Celebrate International Day of Women and Girls in Science with NASA Trailblazers
Each year on January 27, the world pauses on International Holocaust Remembrance Day to commemorate the genocide that resulted in the deaths of more than 6 million Jews and 11 million others by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. The United Nations General Assembly decided on January 27 because it is the anniversary of the … Continue reading Finding Family in Images of Liberation at Buchenwald
The International Military Tribunal, more commonly known at the Nuremberg trials, began this week 75 years ago in Nuremberg, Germany. The trials were a series of military tribunals held to convict major Nazi German leaders on charges of crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit each of these crimes. It … Continue reading The Nuremberg Trials, 75 Years Later
On the morning of October 19th, 1781, British troops along with their allies marched out of Yorktown, Virginia with flags furled to surrender to combined American and French forces. The siege and surrender at Yorktown proved to be the decisive blow to British hopes of regaining control of the American colonies. To celebrate the anniversary … Continue reading Victory at Yorktown
